Organic Farm Advisory

The Plant & Pest Advisory serves NJ growers by reporting on important pests and recommending responses that are grounded in reproducible trials.

Articles in this section contain information helpful to the NJ commercial organic grower.

Sharing organic practice trial results between land-grant universities is a cost effective way to create a common knowledge base built on the strengths of individual programs. In the sidebar, find institutions with programs in organic agriculture which augment knowledge developed at the Rutgers New Jersey Ag Experiment Station.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension Field Guides: These concise guides help with decision making from pre-planting to harvest. For each crop listed, learn what pests to proactively look for as the season progresses, how to look for them, and when to take action.

Field Guide List

May 20, 2015

Veg IPM Update: Week Ending 5/20/15

Sweet Corn

Click to View

Click to View

European corn borer (ECB) adults are being captured with increasing frequency now. At the present, areas of highest activity include Burlington and Warren counties (see ECB map). Cooler nights for later this week may suppress catches for the next several days.

Most early sweet corn plantings are too young to support ECB larval infestations. However, over the next two weeks we should begin to see feeding in the most advanced plantings. Be sure to begin monitoring the earliest plantings for ECB feeding while they are still in the whorl stage. For detailed information see:

 

The highest nightly ECB catches for the previous week are as follows:
Belvidere 2 Allamuchy 1 Port Colden 1
Blairstown 2 Califon 1 Sergeantsville 1
Denville 2 Centerton 1 Tabernacle 1
Medford 2 Pedricktown 1 Woodstown 1

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
May 17, 2015

Vegetable Disease Update – 5/17/15

Pepper

 
Bacterial leaf spot – Symptoms of bacterial leaf spot on pepper leaves include small, brown water-soaked lesions that turn brown and necrotic in the centers. Spots may coalesce and form large blighted areas on leaves and premature defoliation can occur. On fruit, brown lesions can form which have a roughened, cracked wart-like appearance. High temperatures, high relative humidity and rainfall favor Bacterial spot development. Loss from Bacterial spot can be reduced somewhat by maintaining high levels of fertility, which will stimulate new growth. Applying a fixed copper (M1) at labeled rates or may help suppress spread. Quintec (quinoxyfen, 13) at 6.0 fl. oz/A is now labeled for the suppression of bacterial leaf spot in pepper in the mid-Atlantic region. Please see the 2015 New Jersey Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations Guide for more information.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
May 13, 2015

Veg IPM Update: Week Ending 5/13/15

Sweet Corn

ECB-5-13-2015

ECB May 13, 2015
Click to View

The black light trap network has been deployed and is being monitored by IPM Program personnel. The corn earworm (CEW) pheromone trap network is currently being deployed. As adult European corn borer (ECB) and CEW begin to arrive in traps, population maps of these pests will be published in the Plant and Pest Advisory on a weekly basis. Additionally, maps of the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) will also appear in this publication.

A few European corn borer (ECB) adults have been captured in New Jersey over the past week. At this time, the highest number of moths captured has been from Salem County (see ECB map). As warmer weather becomes consistent, catches should increase across the state. Night time temperatures in the low 50°F range or lower will cause catches to develop more slowly. Larval infestations should not occur for some time yet. We will first see a significant increase in the number of traps registering catches. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops
May 10, 2015

Early-season Phytophthora blight control in pepper

Phytophthora blight typically develops in low-lying areas after a heavy rain and can spread quickly throughout the entire field.

Cultural Recommendations

Planting on a ridge or raised, dome-shaped bed will help provide better soil drainage. Use a minimum 3-year crop rotation with crops other than pepper, cucurbit, lima and snap beans, eggplant, or tomato. In fields with low-lying or wet areas, plant only Phytophthora-resistant/tolerant bell pepper cultivars such as ‘Paladin’, ‘Turnpike’,  ‘Aristotle’, ‘1819’, ‘Intruder’, ‘Archimedes’, or ‘Revolution’. In heavily-infested pepper fields with a known history of Phytophthora blight, plant only tolerant cultivars to help reduce plant losses. If mefenoxam-insensitivity is known to exist in a field/farm, plant only tolerant cultivars. Do not apply mefenoxam or metalaxyl in fields where insensitivity is known to exist.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: ,
May 4, 2015

Angular Leaf Spot in Strawberries

Often considered a minor pathogen, angular leaf spot caused by the bacterium, Xanthomonas fragariae, can cause serious leaf and calyx infections ruining the marketability of fruit if left uncontrolled. Like all bacterium, the pathogen will infect leaves and the calyx through natural openings or wounds.

Fig. 1. Water-soaked lesions caused by angular leaf spot on infect strawberry leaf. Photo by P. Nitzsche

Infections can often start in production operations and come in on infected bare root transplants or cuttings. Symptoms on leaves include initial small, irregular water-soaked lesions (Fig. 1).
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: ,
May 4, 2015

Strawberry Fruit Rots 2015

Anthracnose fruit rot of strawberry

Anthracnose Fruit Rot of Strawberry

Fruit rots in strawberry can cause significant losses if not recognized early and controlled. The use of good cultural practices such as: keeping fields weed-free and promoting good drainage; long crop rotations, and preventative fungicide applications are critical.

Pathogens such as anthracnose, gray mold (Botrytis), and leather rot can become systemic problems in strawberry plantings once established. All three fungal diseases are soil-borne and once in fields can be difficult to manage over the lifetime of the planting.

The use of mulch (matted rows) to prevent/reduce soil splashing and keeping fruit from coming into direct contact with the soil surface can be beneficial in organic production systems where conventional fungicides cannot be used. Use of long crop rotations and staying away from areas of the farm with known instances of any of these pathogens is also important. Remember that same species of Colletotrichum that causes fruit rot in pepper and other crops can also infect strawberry.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Organic Production, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: